Both our Senior teams in the Men's and Women's bounced back from recent losses with wins over the weekend. The Seniors halting their defeat streak at two by overcoming a 5 goal start to a very determined St Bernards outfit. The Ressies had got it done earlier with a 78 point win over the Snowdogs to seal up the double chance with one round to go. Over at Coburg the Saints went two for two with the Gold and Blue teams both recording comfortable wins.
The perfect round on Saturday was then capped on Sunday by the thrilling win to the under 19 Premier team in the Second Semi, hanging on to beat the favoured Old Brighton in an absolute nail biter at Box Hill. The result takes them straight into the Grand Final in a fortnight's time. Our Green Machine were resting up as they prepare for their own Grand Final next weekend against MCC. Of our four teams to have played in the finals so far, all of them have made it to the Big Dance. Our Saints Gold head to the Second Semi next weekend whilst it's one more round for the Seniors and Ressies before they both start their finals campaigns. It's really heating up down at SKOB. Overall the club registered five wins from five - a great weekend.
JOC back in the cabinet as SKOB shake Snowies
The pre-game lunch, which quickly transcended into “Sermon of the Mount”, was packed to the gills with a sold out audience enjoying some lunchtime jibes and friendly banter amongst the competing clubs' supporters. The JOC O’Connor Cup was on the line with St Bernard’s the current holders, and the home town fans were keen to wrestle it back. With the pleasantries, speeches and questionable raffle results out of the way, it was time for the real action to begin.
And begin was something the Bernards did with a flurry. Ten minutes in we were still awaiting the first goal, but ten minutes later the Snowdogs had five to the home side’s zip! Yikes, the visitors had come to play and were not shy about being party poopers on the day. Although they had first use of the breeze, it was the Bernie’s ability to get first use of the ball that saw them dominant the mid third of the opening quarter. A fightback by SKOB in the last ten minutes saw them post a couple of goals and peel back the deficit to 18 points at the first change. After a reset at the huddle, SKOB used the breeze to their advantage in term two, with a steady stream of goals to the visitors nil, allowing them to head for the sheds with a five point buffer.
The mood in the rooms at the half was calm, but the players were well aware that the next 30 minutes would be critical. With both sides now better equipped to defend into the breeze, it was SKOB who showed they had learnt from the first term, adopting a more patient and methodical approach to the contest. Rather than opening up for a shoot out, they locked in and worked their way up the ground. Kerr registered the first goal of the term and this gave the home team a great psychological boost. The Bernies attacked and responded with one goal but couldn’t land another despite having the better of the conditions. Cam Hodges booted one as we hit the 20 minute mark and as the teams turned for home it was SKOB with a seven point advantage. That they had not only squared but won the quarter playing into the breeze was massive - and certainly there was an air of confidence amongst the fans as they gathered at the huddle.
First goal again to SKOB through Mahoney to open the last term and it looked like they might steam roll in from here, but the Bernie’s were not done with yet. Having gone to school on the SKOB approach in the third term, they shut down avenues to attack and even jagged one against the run of play to stay in touch. As the clock ticked 20 minutes it looked like the game had run out of juice, but then another flurry. First a goal to the Snowdogs to make it under a kick. Luke Winter snapped one 30 seconds later to calm nerves, but that didn’t last long. From the centre went St Bernards and they snapped a clever dribbler to again cut the margin back. Again SKOB peppered inside 50 and the pressure finally paid off as a Jack Darmody tackle was awarded - plus a 50 - to make it comfortable and then a certainty as minutes later Darmody found Kerr alone from 15 out, with the VAFA leading sharpshooter making no mistake. The final margin was 17 points, which was SKOB’s biggest lead all day as St Bernards served it right up to them all the way to the finish line. Most importantly, SKOB got the win that they were so desperately craving after a few losses on the trot. The JOC Cup is back in our possession and we look forward to competing for it again next year.
Best for SKOB were: Billy McGee Galimberti, Liam Walters, Jack Andriske, Sam Cameron, Alastair Richards, Sam Critchley
Top two spot secured as Ressies run riot
The double chance has been secured for the Reserves with a solid win in tricky windy conditions against St Bernards at TH King. With a strong team in, the equation was pretty simple for Coach Clough’s men. Win the game and they would guarantee top two with a week to play. A great achievement for the season so far - but still a job ahead of them. First task was to shake off the Bernies. Kicking into the wind, SKOB played a patient game and were strong in defence. Two goals to one for the home team was a great start, then four to zip with the wind in the second quarter gave SKOB a solid lead. They repeated the dose in the third and then dined out on the breeze in the last, booting 6 goals to the Malvern end and running out 78 point winners at the finish. Five twins to Ollie Gill and three to Billy Bryan as they gave the Bernie’s defenders headaches, with Tom Davidson, Ben Mansfield, Tom Pirola and Lucas Mascia all playing well too. A final round encounter with another finalist - Old Brighton - awaits next week which will give Coach Clough plenty of insight as we head into September.
Golden tones return
A glance at the half time scoreboard from Piranha Park would tell you the mood the Saints Gold were in on Saturday. Stung from the first loss of the season last weekend, the Golden Tones were back in tune for the last round of the season, racing to a 38-0 lead at the main break. There would be no let up from the Saints today who were playing with an extra zip in their step. After a string of early behinds as players tried to find their radar, the Saints then booted five goals in a row at the end of the first and into the second term. Completely denying the Lions any easy possessions it was all Saints as they piled on 13 scoring shots to nil and, but for some wayward shots in front of the big sticks, might well have led by more at the half. The Saints were looking as sharp as Coach Tommy's new haircut and clearly had a point to prove. With the game firmly in their belts, the Saints cruised through the second half, running the score up to 53 zip at one stage before easing over the line in their last tune up before finals. Tess Cattle has added real firepower to the Saints in the last few weeks and was best afield (booting 2 goals along with a string of possessions), with Zara Guss, Bree Doyle, Annabelle Embelton, Emily Condon and Kate Stanton rounding out the better players.
Our Saints Blue put an underline on Season 2024, coming away from Piranha Park with a win in their final game for the season. There won’t be finals for these Blues this year, but they fought hard right to the end and the win on Saturday underlined that they were the best team out of the four - finishing just outside the placings in fifth. A great fightback after a slow start to the season, the Blues have shown some great development through the year and will all be better for a big campaign in 2025. On Saturday they had to fight hard for the win - especially after the Lions put on 4.2 in the second quarter. The Saints were able to restrict them to just 0.1 combined over the other three quarters and were rewarded for their more consistent output with the four points on the day. Best for the Blues were Isabella Hoal, Alice Straford, Sienna Vallejo, Dom Garcia, Michaela Weinstein and Georgie Nolan.
Premier 19s into the Granny - hanging on in thriller
With a spot in the Grand Final up for grabs the Second Semi in Under 19 Premier on Sunday at Box Hill promised plenty with the top two teams in the home and away comp coming together for a first shot at the big dance. Brighton were heavily favoured in this game having beaten SKOB twice this year and finishing clearly on top, but SKOB came into the game on a seven game winning streak and were feeling every bit as confident. With a healthy breeze assisting, SKOB got away to a dream start, registering four goals before Brighton were able to reply with a late one in the quarter. Hudson Lefoe was super dangerous and ice cool in front of the big sticks as he booted the first two goals of the game. Sam Jones and George Delimitrou followed up and although they conceded one late, the coaching staff would have felt SKOB had effectively used the three goal breeze in the first quarter. The advantage proved to be just that as Brighton used it to kick three goals to zero in term two and at half time, SKOB went to the sheds with the narrowest of leads. As can often be the case in finals, the second half got very dour as both teams locked down. With a big prize on offer for the winner, neither side was prepared to give an inch in a tightly fought contest. Ronan Smythe goaled for SKOB but their lion's share of football in their forward half did not result in any more six pointers. A late one to Brighton on the stroke of 3/4 time was almost a dagger to the heart for SKOB. With only a slender 3 point lead at the final turn, and heading into the breeze it was looking an uphill battle. Ronan Smythe goaled again early in the final term to give SKOB a decent break. They then held on for dear life as Brighton threw everything into attack. A series of behinds for the beachsiders was not enough and SKOB were able to hold on for a four point win, marching straight into the Grand Final in the process. Each and every man gave his all for SKOB in a great team effort with Sam Jones, Paul Parakilas, Liam Hepburn, Ben Ball, Ben Palmer and Jack Luscombe amongst the best of them.
It's a great effort to march straight into the Grand Final but SKOB will be wary of their 2023 campaign and be reminded to keep a lid on emotions and not get carried away or waste energy in the build up.
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